Lent Day 25: Pushed to the Limit

Last updated on: March 30, 2014 at 1:46 am by Monique Ocampo

Lent Day 25: Pushed to the Limit 2014-03-30T01:46:03-05:00 Monique Ocampo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Fr. Robert Barron’s Lenten Reflection asks “What Can The Saints Teach us About Lent?”

In his reflection, Fr. Barron says that a lot of saints go through a period of “extremes” to try and imitate Christ’s 40 days in the desert. Sometimes, though, God puts these saints through an extreme period when they least expect it.

While St. Ignatius of Loyola chose to spend a year in a cave, fasting and turning into Bigfoot, Mother Teresa had a period where she felt so far away from God and her faith was constantly put to the test. She called it the “Dark Night of the Soul,” taking inspiration from St. John of the Cross, and St. Teresa of Avila who both went through a similar trial.

Fr. Barron also mentions the 30 Day Spiritual Exercises which, for those who don’t know, are a series of meditations that involve placing oneself within a certain event in the Gospels. It’s a very imaginative exercise and they can be pretty intense. However, for Soon-to-be-Saint John Paul II, he endured his own intense spiritual trial in the form of Parkinson’s disease.

Sometimes we choose to push ourselves to the limit and other times, God pushes us. It all depends on the person. I’ve stated on this blog before that God doesn’t just think of the world as a whole, but he also thinks about every individual person and what each individual needs. Lent is not just a tradition for Christianity as a whole, but can also be a period of tests, trials, or great changes for each and every Christian.

But the good news is that as of tomorrow, we’ll be halfway done with Lent! To quote Bon Jovi:

We’ve got to hold on to what we’ve got
‘Cause it doesn’t make a difference
If we make it or not
We’ve got each other and that’s a lot
For love – we’ll give it a shot

Whooah, we’re half way there
Livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand and we’ll make it – I swear
Livin’ on a prayer

Only for Christians, it is a difference if we make it through Lent and come out a different person or not. But the good news is that because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not alone. We carry each other as we carry our individual crosses. We are all living on a prayer, but it’s not a bad thing.

So now that we’re almost halfway there, tell me how Lent has been going for you? What have you learned about yourself or about what it means to be a Christian?

Previous Post

March 29, 2014

Lent Day 24: Psalms and Feelings

Next Post

March 31, 2014 Lent Day 26: Temporary Home

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Night at the Movies Apologetics Asperger's Syndrome autism Being Catholic Books Buffy the Vampire Slayer Faith Fandoms Heart of Mary Women's Fellowship Interviews Lent Music Personal Life Poetry Prayer Radiance and Grace Reflections Relationships Religion Saints Seven Quick Takes Social Media Taylor Swift Television The Soapbox True Love Tuesday Uncategorized Women of Christ Wednesday writing Young Adult Issues

Select a Month February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz